MRT OF THE PANCREAS - EFFICACY, TECHNIQUE AND APPLICATIONS

MR imaging of the pancreas is compromised by several problems: motion artifacts from breathing, cardiac and vascular pulsation, and bowel pe ristalsis. These limitations can be overcome by modern scanner- and so ftware technology. In the meantime, MRI of the pancreas can compete wi th well established methods as ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) . In addition, new sequences provide imaging modalities comparable to angiography and ERCP. In the future, the value and the efficacy of MRI in comparison to CT, and its clinical impact has to be evaluated in c linical studies. In this article, we review the technical development of MRI of the pancreas, and discuss its clinical use.